BEIJING — The Chinese have begun trialing a remotely-controlled battle tank as part of plans to upgrade its armed forces.
The Global Times reports that China's medium-sized Type 59 tank is equipped with a 100 or 105 millimeter cannon, and typically requires a crew of 4 people to operate.
The state is now testing an unmanned version of the tank, with footage from Chinese media showing a soldier remotely driving the vehicle.
Type 59 tanks were first used in the 1950s and are due to retire, but can be equipped with with artificial intelligence to turn them to autonomous vehicles.
They will be able to work with other unmanned equipment, and integrate information from satellites, aircrafts, or submarines.
For now, the unmanned Type 59 tanks still have technical issues, and will likely go through more testing and tweaking before they can be fully combat-capable.
